


I Hope I'm Not A Casualty (Hope You Won't Get Up And Leave)

by awholenewlevelofcharming



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Based off a video game, Chaptered, Mentions of Violence, Multi, Sexual Content, i'm embarrassed lol, mentions of guns, zombie!au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-17
Updated: 2014-11-04
Packaged: 2018-02-21 11:22:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2466419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awholenewlevelofcharming/pseuds/awholenewlevelofcharming
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's the apocalypse and Harry's life is over; He'll never be happy again. Until a little voice over the radio tells him there's a Zone for him, his sister and her boyfriend, just right outside of Austin Texas.</p><p>Or, a ridiculous Zombie!AU (based off a game, if you know what game 100 points to you and ily forever) - Harry's ridiculous, Gemma and Niall are all he's got left, Louis is a badass, Zayn & Liam are extremely peaceful even though they <i>love</i> to point guns at everyone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm terribly and truly sorry. Is all I have to say.
> 
> Uh, this idea came to me when I was playing a certain video game (one of my favorites) and I kinda just... Wrote it. It's not finished yet. It will be split into chapters. I promise I will finish it. I'm not sure how many chapters this will have either, but if you let me know if you want me to continue then it will motivate me to finish sooner!
> 
> Hopefully you won't judge me to harsh.
> 
> Happy Reading!

\-----*-----

When Harry was thirteen, he watched his next door neighbor eat his mum's face off. Fifteen days later, he watched his step-father's limbs get detached from his body.

At least he's still got his older sister, Gemma, and her boyfriend Niall Horan.

\-----TEN YEARS LATER-----

Harry peels his knapsack off his shoulders, his oversized black t-shirt sticking to his back; They were in the middle of Texas somewhere, where the heat is humid and suffocating. He tears off his fedora, his favorite hat he found somewhere in California a few weeks ago.

Going, going, going.

"You think any runners will be draggin' 'bout?"

"Nah," Gemma says, kicking her boots off next to Harry's knapsack - She must be exhausted as well, because she never takes off her boots unless she's about to go to sleep. She's pretty paranoid nowadays. "We're in Dallas... Last I heard, they wiped this place clean."

Niall's eyebrows furrow in concern. "And how long ago was that, Gems?"

Harry already knows the answer. That was three weeks ago when Harry had stumbled along and found a working radio (That played a stupid loop); They'd been trying to find someone else to communicate with. Sometimes it felt like they were the only ones left in the World. Gemma shrugs. "A few weeks ago."

A snort leaves Niall's nose, his blonde hair shaking around his forehead as he shakes his head. "You can't know what's out there for sure, Gem."

"Sure I do," Gemma argues. "Runners and clickers and disgusting hunters. Those arseholes, don't even get me started on the hunters -"

Harry takes a bite after his banana, not after checking it thoroughly - You have to be extra cautious nowadays apparently. "We know how you feel about them." He mumbles around a mouthful and Gemma looks at him in disgust. "You always talk about it."

"Well." Gemma says a bit miffed. "They're disgusting human beings. I bet before the outbreak they were all normal people, but ever since these damn runners took over the world, they act like spoiled little brats."

"Gemma," Niall says softly. "They're just trying to survive -"

"By killing people and stealing their clothes?" Harry raises an eyebrow. "They don't even give them a chance to offer their stuff to the hunters - Just kill them without even blinking -"

"Yeah and we're lucky we've only run into a few of those. We're lucky we killed them before they killed us."

Harry winces; He didn't like to think about killing other living humans. He's killed plenty though - Zombies (Gemma calls them Runners), the older Zombies (Niall calls those clickers. They make a weird noise when they walk and their face looks like a bloody plant from being infected for so long) and then the hunters. They're living people like Harry, Niall and Gemma... But they kill other living people for their clothes, food and weapons.

Harry had stolen his handgun from a house, along with two shotguns. It still worries him a little, going into random houses just to steal someone elses things. It makes him feel guilty and a little rude, although it _does_ help the three of them survive. 

"You guys hungry?" Niall hums, before he's digging around in his knapsack and pulling out a can of refried beans. Harry wants to vomit; They've had that for the past three nights in a row. "Sorry, we haven't gone scavenging for awhile."

"We'll hit a few houses on our way back to Houston. Maybe find some better food than this." Gemma crinkles her nose, stretching her back a little.

Harry looks around in the abandoned house they're in now; They had to check _every_ single inch of this place for possible infected, just in case. It was clean and also really close to the underground sewers where they travel in most of the time. This house was pretty cosy, two bedrooms, a large kitchen and a living room with just enough of space for the three of them to sleep in. 

They'd probably have to take shifts tonight again, simply because Gemma was paranoid and Niall doesn't trust anything those wonky radios say. He sighs a little and leans back against the ratty couch. It smells like old grandma in here.

His curls have stuck to his forehead now and he probably reeks of sweat and death, but they haven't been able to shower in two days. They're still cautious on running the shower (if the water still works) in these houses. Showering with water from water bottles and soap found wherever they can find it, is just not helping them with the whole hygiene process.

He cracks his neck a little; Looking over at Gemma who's currently mixing up the beans in the can to make it more edible, her long blonde curly hair tied into a ponytail, dimples that match Harry's, poking out of her cheeks as she sticks her tongue out to lick the spoon. She passes it to Harry, who simply takes it, shoves a spoonful in his mouth and hands it back to Niall.

They go like this for awhile, simply handing each other the can of beans around and taking bites in silence. Just as the sun starts to set, Harry stands up and stretches his arms above his head. "We're leaving in the morning right?"

"Yeah." Gemma nods, looking down at Niall's watch. They're disgustingly cute sometimes, he thinks, just as she crawls in his lap and yawns. "Go house hunting first and then we'll head to Houston, yeah?"

Harry simply nods; He's not much of a talker these days. 

Niall shoots him a sympathetic look that isn't much wanted, before he pats Gemma on the bum and goes to pull out his blanket out of his bag.

Harry makes his own little fort in the corner of the living room, closest to the window just in case. He'll have to take first shift tonight, he guesses, because Niall is already curling up next to Gemma and hiding them under his big blue fuzzy blanket from all the way in Ireland. He sighs a little, shifting around so he can get comfortable against the stolen pillows from this house and blinks his exhaustion away.

He looks out into the empty streets, a frown visible on his face. He wishes everything was back to normal. How it was when he was thirteen and naive and going through puberty. He hears Gemma giggle quietly just as Niall's voice drops to a whisper and thinks that maybe everything will be okay later into the future.

Maybe.

\-----*-----

"Wake up, kiddo." Niall says right into Harry's ear the next morning.

Harry blinks his eyes open, frown still tilting his lips down and stretches his long limbs against the hardwood floor. His back pops when he stands and he winces, rubbing the sore spot gently. "Time s'it?"

"Just after five." Niall hums. "In the morning."

Harry looks over to find Gemma awake and tying her hair back again, a new grey tank she must've found somewhere in the drawers. Harry should probably do the same, just right after he 'showers'.

He groggily makes his way into the bathroom, immediately spotting a bottle of pills and grabbing them. Medicine is very important nowadays too, always. He pops one just to get him going for the day and goes to open one of the bottles. 

He strips himself down to just his pants, before lathering himself up with some of this lavender smelling Dove soap Gemma must've found. He pours the water down his body and shivers a little. It feels good though.

He quickly soaps his hair up, with a bit of a struggle and washes his greasy hair thoroughly. It's immediately refreshing, he decides, and grabs one of the towels that's laid out for him. Gemma and Niall must have already taken their shower for the day, because he notices two dirty towels in the tub just as he steps out.

He dries himself off and opens the door, shivering and teeth clattering as he walks across the hallway and into one of the bedrooms. He looks in the closet first, smiling a little when he sees a light denim shirt that looks like it will fit him perfectly. He tugs it on and once he buttons it just enough to show the tips of his butterfly tattoo, he studies himself in the mirror. It was long enough to fit him, perfect. He quickly finds a pair of jeans but they were one size too small. 

He digs around in the dresses once more and notices that the girls jeans are just the right size. He shrugs and buttons them closed, before bringing the towel to his hair and shaking it dry. He drops it on the floor once he's done. 

No need for hospitality because no one lives here anymore, he thinks.

He grabs his old disregarded clothes from the bathroom, retrieving his knapsack and folding them neatly before buttoning that as well. He pulls his shotgun tighter around his bag and looks up once Gemma makes a noise from beside him. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

"Lets go." says Niall.

\-----*-----

"Think I could fit this in my bag?"

"Harry, that's a mens magazine. Put that down!"

"Whatever."

"What about this?"

" _Harry_ ," Niall says exasperated. "We need to be eating healthy."

Harry grabs some bread from the counter; Not expired yet. Thank God. He shoves it into his bag and retrieves a water bottle as well. He looks for any more pills, any more medicine but only finds just enough for a headache or just an ache in general. Whatever.

"I'm getting tired of living like this -"

"Wait." Niall freezes. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what -?" Gemma and Harry say just as the same static noise comes from somewhere inside Niall's backpack. The radio.

Harry's eyes widen once he realizes and hurriedly runs to Niall's backside and throwing his bag off his shoulders. "Ouch, man, what the hell -!"

"Shh!"

"If anyone is out there, there is a Quarantine Zone just outside of Austin, Texas. We have food, weapons, medicine anything you need. If you can hear this, we are on radio two. Over."

"Hello?" Harry fumbles just as Niall peers over his shoulder, as if that will make it any louder. "Hello!"

Gemma huffs out an annoyed sigh, but there's a hopeful glint in her eyes. Harry lets go of the button and waits, waits and waits. But no other voice comes back and his shoulders slump in defeat. "Fuck -"

"Uh hi..." Another soft voice comes from the other line and Harry gasps. "We're just outside of Austin. How many do you have?"

"Just.. uh, just three."

"Do you have children with you?"

Harry furrows his eyebrows. Children? He hasn't seen any children around lately. "No. Just two men and a woman. 23, 26 and 27."

"Okay. Great." Static. "Outside of Austin. Ask for Louis once you get here. If you're infected, we will shoot you on sight."

Harry's eyes widen for three reasons; One, because he can't even imagine being infected anytime soon and two, because Gemma gasps and holds out her gun and three.... Because a clicker has just appeared right outside their window. 

Niall immediately squats to the side and wildly gestures for Harry to turn the radio off, so he does, easily and squats down next to him. They're quiet for a few beats, before Gemma exhales. "Coast is clear."

"Bloody things scare the -"

"Gemma," Harry breathes. "We have to go. _Now_."

He runs over to his bag and slings it across his shoulders, pulling his handgun close to his chest as he looks out the window. Along the horizon, furhter up the street, a whole _army of runners_ are walking along and coming closer, closer, closer. Gemma gets the message immediately, throwing everything she can into her bag and hopping out the window with Niall right behind her. 

Harry grabs an empty glass bottle to throw to distract them just in case.

They hide behind flipped cars, behind left behind boxes and hope for the best. They're quiet as they possibly can and head north.

Austin it is then.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> harry and gemma meet niall
> 
> harry, gemma and niall meet the rest of the boys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> still a bit slow, i'm sorry about that

\-----*-----

When Harry and Gemma met Niall Horan, Harry was fighting off a clicker.

It was nearly three years ago, two years after the two siblings had found their way to the states through a shitty airplane that some man named Nicholas Grimshaw flew around for ration cards. 

They were somewhere in Ohio and Gemma had just barely learned how to use a gun. Harry was grateful his stepfather taught him how to shoot a few of them before he died, at least. 

"We should cut through that building," Gemma had said and of course, Harry had agreed easily. Gemma always knew what she was doing. 

He followed her through the dirty streets - streets filled with trash and cars that were worn down and piled up on top of each other. Harry even saw a few dead bodies in them, obvious that they couldn't make it out in time before the infected had caught them. Or the bomb had gotten to them instead. He shivers a little when he peeks into one car and sees a car seat for a small toddler.

He shoves his knapsack strap up higher, his pistol digging into his tailbone and his back sore from hiking for so long. Once they find a safe place, he thinks the two of them should rest. 

When they get further up the street, Harry's ears prickle when he hears distant growling further up the street. "Shit." He hisses and grips Gemma's shoulder. She gives him a wild look, turning abruptly on her heels. "Runners?"

"I don't...." Gemma looks around, squinting. "I don't know."

"It sounds too heavy."

She turns back around and runs on the tip of her toes behind a flipped car and Harry hurriedly follows. He was a bit louder, much to his and Gemma's annoyance, because he can't really walk on two feet, let alone run. He peeks his head up and looks around again, before he sees it.

There's a pack of them - Four runners and one clicker. 

"We have to run up on them. Choke the runners out and then get the clicker with my pistol? We don't have a shiv."

A shiv. Fuck. What was Harry thinking?

He used his last pieces of tape to make a quick health kit - Taped a piece of cloth to stop the bleeding in his arm. It's numb now, he thinks, but it still hasn't stopped bleeding. 

"The pistol will be too loud," Gemma breathes. "Fuck, Haz."

Harry shrugs; What does he have to lose? Well, besides Gemma, but... She's smart enough.

Thankfully, they were all spread out; Two of them on his right, one of them in front of him and the clicker walking away from them in the opposite direction. He exhales once before he squats down, balancing himself on his feet. He's done this loads of times, however, he still feels that familiar burn shoot up his thighs. And not the good pain. 

He slowly and quietly walks over to the one closest to him, breathing quietly through his nose. Gemma's on his right, in the same position, however she's got her arms ready and out in front of her. She looks like a lost kangaroo. 

He leaps up once he's close enough and wraps his arm tight, tight, tight around the strangers neck and chokes as hard as he can. The infected stranger growls lowly at first, just loud enough for Harry to hear and he swings him around once he starts clawing at Harry's face. No scratches, no teeth and no bleeding on one of Harry's wounds or else he'll get infected himself.

He's sees Gemma drop the woman she just killed, or at least, put to sleep. They don't know how that works really, because they're never around long enough to see if they come back to life or what. When Harry was younger, he used to watch movies and play video games and in order to kill a zombie in those worlds, you had to light them on fire or chop their head off. Oh how different it is in real life.

He breathes deeply again, the smell of death hitting his nostrils like a wrecking ball and immediately squats again, the man he just choked out dropped and forgotten near his feet. He points to the one to his left and Gemma nods, before she walks to the other man quietly. Teamwork, Harry decides, is the best way to kill these sons of bitches.

He furrows his eyebrows when the infected girl stops moving all together, shoulders rolling. She's got blood all over her coat, blonde hair dirty with blood and dirt, and her pants are torn. Harry wonders what her name was before she got infected, he wonders if she had a nice family or if she wasn't accepted or - 

"Harry!" 

He scrambles to pull out his pistol from the waistband of his pants, pushing his arms out with much force and hitting whatever was running towards him from behind. Gemma hurriedly finishes choking the zombie before running back over to Harry and pushing the clicker off of his shoulders. The girl that Harry was admiring before, snapped out of her daze and started growling in Harry's face. 

He'll have to shoot his gun; They've made too much noise for the Clicker, so he knows exactly where Harry and Gemma are, but he might attract more. His mind is a jumbled mess, so he misses when the girl lunges at him. He presses down on the trigger again, right near her heart and she growls loudly before whimpering and dropping to her feet. 

Gemma pushes her off of Harry and smashes her head in with her own foot, but as Harry is watching, the clicker jumps on him again.

He falls back on his back with a loud grunt, his head hitting the concrete floor with much more force than he thought. The clicker is making the awful noises it does, snapping at his neck and in his face. Harry had dropped his gun, where the hell was his gun?

He blindly pats around the floor, his eyes screwed shut tightly - He hates the sight of these things. 

The weight of the zombie is suddenly off of his legs and Gemma's screaming at Harry to get up, to run, but where did the clicker go? Did she kill him?

He opens his eyes and finds another man staring at him, blue bright eyes wild and curious. He blinks up at him and notices for the first time that he's carrying a machete. "A'right there, mate?"

Irish. 

That's an Irish accent.

"Um," Harry says ineloquently. "Yeah."

The sun has finally moved out of Harry's eyes, but he still raises his hand up to his eyes to shield the brightness from them, studying the man. He's got blonde hair with brown roots, bright blue eyes and braces stuck to his teeth. Harry wonders how he'll get those off. 

The strangers hand is also in his face, trying to help him up. He takes it easily, furrowing his brows when Gemma makes a noise in protest behind him. He scrambles to his feet once she shoves the stranger so hard he stumbles backwards. "Who are you?" She demands, waving her own pistol in his face. " _You're bloody name!"_

"Niall." The man says, rubbing his arm. "Ouch. You should be thanking me for saving your boyfriend here!"

"Little brother, actually..." Harry mumbles, ignoring the way Gemma's cheeks flare up a nice shade of pink. "And thank you... By the way."

"Yeah, yeah." Niall rolls his eyes. "We've got to get out of here. They might've heard our noise."

" _We've_?" Gemma scoffs. "Yeah, right. Harry, c'mon."

"Gem -"

"I'm not going to hurt you," Niall says quietly. "If I were going to hurt you, I would've done it already. I've got shelter not to far from here, I'll let you crash there for tonight. You lot look a bit tired, yeah?"

"Yeah." Harry says hesitantly, his stomach growls loudly. He blushes. "Do you have any food?"

"I've got eggs?" 

Winner. Gemma never says no to eggs.

"Don't try nothin' funny," Gemma demands, but grabs Harry's bicep and follows Niall with the Machete to wherever he's going. He gulps. Maybe he shouldn't trust people so easily. 

"Won't." Niall smiles at her; Harry likes his smile.

\-----*-----

"I'll make some eggs," Niall says immediately upon entering his small shelter.

It's a small house, just outside of Ohio. It apparently has running water that doesn't run from the city and running electricity because the owners of this house relied on themselves. "How'd you get into the States?"

"Harry!" Gemma glares.

"Sorry, it's just... I picked up an Irish accent."

Niall shrugs. "Same way you did, I suppose, if 'm assuming.. Knew a lad who knew how to fly a plane. You lot from London?"

"How'd you know?" Gemma smiles at him when he hands her a water bottle.

"My aunt lived there b'fore the outbreak, I visited them a lot. Know an accent when I hear one."

Harry squints at the way Niall winks at Gemma and her cheeks immediately pink up again. 

Oh... Great.

\-----*-----

Harry blinks when Niall leans over to give Gemma a comforting kiss.

They were almost to Austin, almost to the Zone. 

Harry pushes his hunting rifle further into his knapsack because it was starting to poke the back of his head, and that's just bad and wrong for many reasons. He follows them quickly, because Niall's starting to get anxious and Gemma's starting to pout because of how long it's taking and he's really not in the mood for another break.

Niall looks down at his map again and squints back up to the street signs, before turning left. Harry's ears prickle a little as he listens to their surroundings, eyes darting around from side to side. There are buildings surrounding them, tall ones that Harry's only ever seen online before the outbreak. He remembers when he was little, he used to see YouTube videos of people who lived in Texas or somewhere in the states and how similar it was to London but also very, very different.

"You think there will be any kids in the Zone?"

"Probably not," Niall says quietly. "You know there isn't much of those anymore."

'Those.' He says it like children are a myth or something. Like they aren't human beings. 

Harry furrows his eyebrows. "I hope there is."

"Why?" Gemma asks in disbelief. "That's just bad. There shouldn't be children living through this."

"Kids are hopeful," Harry shrugs. "I need some of that."

Gemma gives him a sympathetic look and Niall lets go of her hand to wrap his arm around Harry's shoulders. Harry loves cuddles, so he smiles a little and nuzzles into his warmth before pulling away completely. 

They walk in silence again, sometimes Gemma will comment on how pretty the town must've looked before the outbreak happened, or sometimes Niall will whisper things in her ear and make her giggle. Harry wraps his arms around his torso, gritting his teeth and forcing himself to walk forward.

Once they reach an open area that's surrounded by grey block buildings and trees, Harry's footsteps get a little slower.

They must be close.

He walks up the hill and smiles a little when he sees a rabbit hop away from them, afraid. He pulls off his purple head scarf and brushes his hair in a side part before tying it around his wrist. It was too hot for it, somehow.

He notices a piece of cloth laying near a building and walks over to retrieve it. He puts it deep into his bag and pushes it further up his shoulders before he pushes open the door to the building, Niall close behind.

Harry immediately spots three alone bullets for his hunting rifle, two bullets for his pistol, three pieces of cloth and a bottle of rubbing alcohol. Sweet. He hurriedly collects the items and smiles at Niall when he smirks behind him. They've gotten lucky, really, because this was enough for two health kits and enough bullets for a least a dozen zombies.

"Find anything good?" Gemma asks from behind them, outside. She's got her pistol close to her chest, just in case. 

"Just about." Niall hums, brushing his fringe of his face. Harry blinks as he puts everything securely into his bag. 

When he's finished, he follows Gemma and Niall up the stone path again, listening hard for anything surrounding the large green fence. Niall abruptly stops in front of the entrance. They've made it.

Niall sighs heavily before he walks forward and presses his palms flat against the green metal, but hesitates when he hears something from above him. Harry squints up just as someone shouts, "Don't even think about reaching for that weapon! Tell the girl to drop her weapon! Now!" 

"Gemma -"

"Babe, do as the man says -"

"Alright," Gemma huffs; Harry shoots her a wild look. She puts her hands up to show she isn't going to shoot and well, at least that makes Harry feel a little better.

"Tell me you're lost."

Harry looks over at Niall, his eyebrows raised. "We were told to come here."

Harry's focus comes into clearing now - He's met with black thick hair, chocolate brown eyes and if they weren't during an apocalypse the man would probably be a model. With those cheekbones. Christ. On his left, there's another very attractive male, looking down at them with a worried expression. His face is very puppy like. His eyes are a bit darker, his brown hair lazily cut but nearly shaved off. 

They're both pointing guns at their heads.

"23, 25 and 27?"

"Uh..." Niall furrows his eyebrows. "23, 26 and 27..."

"Right." Cheekbones says, his Texan accent is ridiculously hot. "You aint from around here, are you?"

Gemma huffs impatiently, "Look. If this is going to be a problem, we can just cut through. No harm, no foul."

"Zayn," Buff guy mutters. "Louis says we let them in, no questions asked."

Zayn simply nods, his jaw tight. He steps down and disappears behind the fence, to unlock it and opens it.

Harry's met with the site of houses and people wondering around; It's like a whole different world. They all look friendly though, eyeing the three of them curiously, but also trying to make it seem they're more interested in their work than they are these strangers.

Buff guy steps forward with a small smile, he's not that much taller than Harry is, and up close, he looks... _soft_. "I'm Liam. Y'all are?"

Niall wraps an arm around Gemma protectively and Harry cowers a little to her side. "Harry, Niall and I'm Gemma."

"Who is the oldest?"

"Gemma," Harry automatically answers. "I'm the youngest."

"Go get Lou," Zayn says quietly in Liam's ear, Harry looks away. It seemed like a private moment. He stumbles a little on his feet, behind Gemma and looks down at his hands. He doesn't know what to do with himself. Gemma and Niall have begun talking to themselves, their private arguments that only go as loud as a whisper. Gemma must be really upset, as she always is. 

Liam disappears behind one of the large yellow tents. Harry takes in his surroundings.

It isn't much, really, just a bunch of yellow tents that have worn down mattresses and dressers with peoples' supplies in them. There is also a large fire in the middle of the Dam and his ears prickle when he hears running water. There must be a lake or a waterfall near by. That would make sense, clean water to survive on.

He shifts a little uncomfortably when he feels Zayn staring at him, his rifle slung over his shoulder and Harry's own digging into his back, although he keeps his eyes trained on the spot where Liam disappeared to. Thankfully, Liam comes back with a shorter man.

He's smaller, although he's definitely curvy and has brown floppy hair that is brushed to the side. His eyes are really blue, bluer than Niall's, and he's got tattoos covering the sides of his arms and shoulders. He looks serious, tired, dark bags underneath his eyes. He's sporting a grey jumper and loose khaki pants with a pair of green toms - It's a ridiculous combination but somehow it works for the man. He blinks when he sees Harry, and then looks between Gemma and Niall.

They've somehow gotten louder, whisper-shouting in each others faces. Harry's never seen them this angry. 

"... Don't be bloody ridiculous, Gemma, nothing is going to happen to him, yeah? I promise. Nothing will happen to you either, now stop causing a scene -"

"I'm not the one being loud! You're basically _yelling_ at me!"

"I am _not_ yelling -"

"Hello," Louis, Harry thinks, finally says. It's the same soft magical voice from the radio. "I'm Louis."

Gemma still hasn't stopped talking, so Harry pinches her arm. He's going to have to take over, he supposes. "I'm Harry," He mumbles inadequately. "This trouble in paradise is Gemma and Niall."

Louis nods, as if he's storing this information somewhere deep into his mind. "23, 26 and 27."

"... Yeah..."

"Okay," Louis smiles at them, finally holding out his hand. "Welcome." 

Harry gets knocked out the moment he grips Louis' hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love abrupt endings hehehehe
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> [tumblr](http://devilishlarry.tumblr.com)
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> let me know what you think.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just want to quickly apologize for how long it's taken me to update, I've been extremely busy with school and other things but I promise they'll start coming a lot faster. I'm really exciting to write this for you guys!
> 
> As always, let me know what you think and happy reading!

Pain.

That's the first thing Harry feels once he finally wakes up; The pounding and stabbing sensation in the back of his head feels as if someone is poking his temple repeatedly. He groans quietly and blinks his eyes open and - 

Nothing.

He sees nothing but pitch black. At first, he panics, arms flailing beside him to reach for his gun, but something sharp is digging into his biceps, holding him to the bed he's laying on. He can still move his arm from the elbow down, so he reaches up and bats at his eyes only to find that they're covered. Feeling stupid, he huffs quietly and pushes it off, hissing at the _bright_ light dangling over his head.

He turns his head to look around and examine his surroundings - He sees only stone walls and a whole other row of beds, similar to his own. Machines are next to them as well, so Harry figures this must be some sort of hospital.

Only one other person occupies a bed like him, blood rushing down the strangers arm. Harry notices at first his wild brown hair, swooping in and around his face but then realizes that he can't be much younger than himself. His eyes are a light blue, although they're extremely hazy from the IV that's shooting some sort of drug (Harry assumes it must be morphine, though he doesn't know _how_ ) into his arm. 

The stranger must feel someone staring at him, because his head finally snaps up and before Harry can look away, someone presses something against the top of his head, causing him to immediately stiffen and freeze, eyes widening. It's hard and similar to a gun, so Harry stays put, the stranger completely forgotten. "You know," He finds his voice, to his surprise, "I don't appreciate weapons near my head, I'm not going to hurt you -"

"Shush," Says a woman's voice. "It's just protocol." 

The sound of plastic unwrapping from behind him makes him feel anxious, a certain stirring in his stomach making him feel nauseous all over. "Protocol. Right." Harry swallows tightly. "Where's Gemma? And Niall?"

The woman clears her throat, before walking into Harry's view. She has long brown curly hair, almond skin and large brown eyes - She's very pretty, but also very serious. Even though she's wearing the basic doctors uniform (Blue scrubs with a long white lab coat), she also has a knife strapped to her thigh and a gun holster strapped to her hip. "I'm assuming they're family?"

"Yes," Harry says uneasily, watching her inject a needle into his IV bag. He didn't realize he was hooked up to one. "What is that?"

"Morphine -"

"How'd you -?"

"You're asking a lot of questions, Harry." She smiles at him gently even though her voice is low and serious. "Let me answer your first ones, yeah?"

Harry's lips go into a thin line, but he nods nonetheless. 

The woman sets down the needle and takes off her gloves, before leaning on the side of his bed. "I'm Eleanor Calder, I'm the head doctor here in Zone 8. Call me whatever you like as long as they're not insults."

Harry smiles at her smirk; He likes her. "Okay..." He says slowly. "What about my family?"

"The woman, Gemma, was it?" At Harry's answering nod, Eleanor screws up her mouth a little. "She shot one of our men once he knocked you out," Her head jerks behind her. "Josh isn't mad though, don't worry. Anyway, Louis didn't like that so she's locked up -"

"What?" Harry demands, eyes widening. "What the bloody hell do you mean ' _locked up_ '?"

Eleanor places her hand on Harry's broad shoulder to stop him from thrashing about, sighing quietly. "She'll only be locked up for a few more hours, it's just how things work around here. You screw up, you get put into the Jail. It's like time out, though she probably hasn't eaten... Anyway, she'll be fine, now that you are. The blonde, the Irish one, what was his name?"

"Niall." Harry mumbles shakily.

"Yeah." She smiles a little. "He's a loud one, isn't he? He's fine. I'm sure he's at dinner now. When Gemma shot Josh, he was furious and grabbed her around the waist before anyone else touched her. He's very protective of her... Are all of you siblings?"

"No." Harry can't find his voice anymore, sleep heavy on his shoulders. "Gem's my sister. Niall is her boyfriend and my best friend."

"Ah," Eleanor smiles politely. "That's nice."

Harry nods jerkily, eyelids drooping just a little because the morphine must finally be kicking in, making him drowsy. "Why did he knock me out?"

Eleanor laughs quietly. "It's just protocol." She says again. "I had to test the three of you for any sign of infection -"

"And you had to knock me out for that?"

"Just you," Eleanor looks away at that, leaning away from the bed and taking a step back. Her figure has gone blurry and Harry forces his eyes open once she says, "You're the youngest."

"Whaaa'dus that mea-"

Harry falls asleep before he can finish his sentence.

\-----*-----

Louis wakes up to someone poking his cheek. He groans quietly and shifts further into his mattress begging for them to go away, however when he hears his sister's voice, he immediately sits up. "What is it?"

"Sorry," She whispers into the dark. "I'm so sorry, Lou."

"What's wrong?" He demands. 

"I went scavenging -"

Louis immediately crawls out of bed, his face screwing up in a tight line as he throws a hoodie and sweatpants on as well as his bow. He slings that over his shoulder along with his arrows, listening to Lottie frantically apologize and hold her bloody arm by Louis' bedside lamp. "It came out of nowhere, I swear and it looked _so sad_ and I _had_ to pet it Louis, it was _just_ a dog -"

Louis grips her arm tightly and stares into her wild eyes. "Did it bark, make any noise?"

"I - I don't-"

Louis growls angrily and pushes her out of the way, but keeping a strong grip on her shoulder and dragging her out of his small house. Frantically, he nearly runs to Liam's house across the street, but after running upstairs and throughout the whole house, he finds no one.

Lottie stays at the bottom step and cowers close to the wall, shaking violently as she watches Louis search the home furiously. Louis grabs ahold of Liam's radio (He'll have to yell at him later for not having it on him) and immediately rings Zayn. "Zayn," He says loudly, just enough to wake them up. "Zayn!"

"M'up." Zayn says and Louis can distinctly hear the TV in the background. "Whats wrong?"

"I need you and Liam to do a perimeter check, please. Is Josh still in the hospital?"

"Yes," Zayn says, rustling through the house. "Liam's with me, I'll wake him."

"Tell him he's in trouble for not having his radio on him." Louis growls. "He _knows_ -"

"Louis," He sighs. "He was having a rough night."

Pause.

Louis' heart swells and immediately feels like trash, he's about to apologize but Lottie yelps in pain again and shakes his head. "Okay," He says, grabbing her by the shoulder again and pulling her out of the house and back onto the brick street. "Um. Okay, get... Paul. He knows the area as well as you two. Tell him I sent y'all."

"Roger that, boss." Pause. "D'ya wanna tell me why -?"

"Lottie - "

"Got it."

The blush on Lottie's cheeks is a bit rewarding; Everyone (well, mostly the guards) are used to Lottie's behavior, how often she sneaks out and causes trouble somehow, Louis thinks he should scare her some time soon if she doesn't stop. The walk as quietly as they can past tents and houses, even though some people are still awake and talking amongst themselves. Once they see Louis though, they all stop and stare or whisper more quietly.

At first, it used to bother him just a bit, because he wanted everyone to like him. He _was_ the one to clear this area clean of zombies and make the Zone in the first place. Well - His drunk father, Mark, helped a little as well, but that's besides the point. Now Mark is some washed up drunk who rarely leaves his tent and only goes to the small little bar if he does.

Louis tries to avoid that area as much as possible, but that doesn't stop the frequent calls to his house at random hours of the day from Cher, begging him to come get Mark.

Louis shakes those thoughts away when they finally reach the hospital and pushes the doors open, heart beating frantically when he sees Eleanor talking to the curly haired boy from earlier, he clears his throat loudly.

Eleanor spins around on her heels once she hears him, eyes widening when she sees blood from Lottie. "What happened?"

"A dog bit her," Louis pushes his little sister to one of the empty beds beside him, feeling the strangers eyes, he blocks Lottie immediately, talking more quietly. "She snuck out -"

"No surprise there," Eleanor says quietly. "You've got to stop doing that, bug."

Lottie doesn't say anything, instead she pushes her sleeve further up her arm and Louis tries to keep his face as stoic as possible when he sees three teeth marks. He watches Eleanor unwrap the gauze and examine the bite. "It didn't sink into the bone. Hopefully the dog wasn't infected, I doubt it. She would have been showing symptoms already... I suggest we keep her overnight and I'm going to go get the ointment."

Louis nods and Eleanor bites her lip gently as she grabs Lottie's uninjured arm. "Little poke," She murmurs and Lottie holds her breath as Eleanor digs the needle into her vein. "G'night."

"I'm sorry," Lottie whispers. "Thank you Dr. Calder."

"No problem, Lottie-bug."

Eleanor meets Louis' eyes then, nodding her head a little to the side and Louis kisses Lottie's cheek softly. His chest deflating a little - Lottie and Mark are all he has left now. He prays she'll be okay. He doesn't think he'd be able to handle Mark on his own. 

He follows Eleanor to the back and watches as Eleanor digs through a handful of keys and folders. "Louis, I'm really sorry, but we're low on ointment.. It's going to cost two ration cards."

Louis rubs the back of his neck, sighing heavily. He's only got five. 

He _really_ needs to go into Fredericksburg to get more. Sensing his hesitancy, Eleanor grips his arm. "It's your rules, boss. I could just give it to you -"

"No," Louis shakes his head. "That wouldn't be fair. I just need to go get more... I'm dangerously low."

Eleanor looks away as she mutters, "I don't want you going to Fredericksburg just to do... _that_."

Eleanor, Zayn and Liam are the only ones who know about Louis'..... secret. How he gets ration cards so easily, smuggling into different zones and sleeping with various people. He looks away when she looks back up at him, crossing his arms tightly over his chest and his arrows digging into his spine, immediately getting defensive. "I'll get you the ration cards."

"Louis -"

"What's his name?" Louis nods his head towards Curly's bed behind him and Eleanor looks over his shoulder with a small smile on her face. 

"His name is Harry." She grabs the green key, before pocketing it in her coat. "You can go talk to him, he's awake."

"He hasn't tried any funny business?"

"None. He's actually really charming." 

Louis rolls his eyes. Women. He'll see about that.

He pats Eleanor lightly and nods, turning around and walking over to Harry's bed, peering down curiously. Harry blinks his eyes open and flinches a little when he realizes how close Louis is now. Louis smiles a little, "Hi."

"Hey." Harry says a bit aloof, looking back down at his arms. "Am I free to go with my sister now, or?"

"You're free to go whenever Eleanor says it's okay," Louis sits down on the bed a bit away from Harry's knees, he feels Harry tense up. "Sorry, that was kind of rude, wasn't it?"

Harry doesn't say anything, so Louis clears his throat a little. "I'm Louis."

Pause. "m'Harry." Another short pause. "Sorry about Josh."

Louis smiles. He's so much like his sister Gemma, whom he'd had a chat with earlier as well. He studies the way his cheeks have hollowed a little, dry chapped lips looking painful as he bites down on them gently. He frowns a little. "When was the last time you ate?"

"Dunno," Harry says, his voice sounding lower than before. "'ve been living off beans for a few days now."

"Well," Louis whispers. "We've got meals three times a day. You have to get snacks with rati-"

"Ration cards, yeah." Harry nods. "I know."

Louis pauses, eyebrows furrowing. "Have you stayed in a zone before?"

"Yup." Another nod, his mouth popping around the 'p.' "Wasn't as nice as this one though. Y'all are a bit paranoid, aren't you? I mean I'm strapped to this bed for christssake."

"Sorry about that," Louis looks down at Harry's bloody shirt, biting the inside of his cheek. He leans over and unstraps him slowly, against his better judgement. Harry hasn't tried anything _yet_ and Louis has his bow digging into his hip so if the boy tries anything Louis could easily pierce him. "There, is that better?"

Harry stretches his arms above his head and Louis tries not to stare at the patch of skin near his hips, showing off a tattoo. "Thanks."

"No problem."

"Why are you carrying a bow and arrow?"

"For protection..." Louis says slowly, confused. 

"Aren't we safe _inside_ the zone?" Harry smiles a little, his arms coming back across his chest. "Personally, I'd prefer a gun. They're easier."

"I'm an archery man myself." Louis chuckles a little. "Guns are loud."

Harry raises an eyebrow. "They kill faster than an arrow does."

"Not if you shoot in the right place." Louis' raises an eyebrow back at him, before looking away and checking on Lottie, eyebrows furrowing when he hears a small muffled cry leave her lips.

"Is she okay?"

Louis' gaze snaps away and back down at Harry's dipped eyebrows. "Yes," He shrugs. "At least that's what El says." Pause. "I've got to go check on the guards now..."

Louis stands up then, dusting off the back of his ripped jeans and smiles as Harry looks him up and down quickly. Harry licks his lips before, "Is she.... Your girlfriend?"

Louis takes a few steps away from his bed, biting down on his lips to hide a grin. "Very subtle." He murmurs, turning around once he hears Harry's jarring squawk. He grips the handle to the door and says quietly, "She's my sister," before walking through the doors.

The genuine small smile on Louis' face hasn't been there for months.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't forget to follow my (new url) [tumblr](http://spicyzouis.tumblr.com)!

**Author's Note:**

> Pretty uneventful. I promise it'll get better. Also, if there are any mistakes I will fix them asap.
> 
> Let me know what you think? Kudos and Comments make me really happy. 
> 
> follow my [tumblr](http://devilishlarry.tumblr.com)!


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